Children's Home run by BREAK in Norfolk

Unique reference number SC060743 Inspection date 18/03/2014 Inspector Louisa Bayley Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 27/09/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This children's home is registered to provide care and accommodation for four children who have learning disabilities, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is owned by a registered charity.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

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Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making good progress .

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Progress

This home was judged as good overall at the full inspection in September 2013. Since that time, the manager has addressed the two requirements and four of the five recommendations. Young people continue to benefit from positive outcomes and make good progress as a result of the care they receive.

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Progress

All young people access education, with good levels of engagement. They have aspirations for further education, which the staff support and encourage. The staff advocate on behalf of the young people, helping them to access their rights to equality of opportunity in education. Young people say that they are happy in the home and cite the support they receive from staff with their education and family contact as a positive aspect of their care. Social workers are positive about the care the home provides. One social worker said: ‘The quality of care is second to none; they are doing a really good job. I cannot think of anything they could do better.’

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Progress

Young people who have moved on have made gradual, successful transitions and have settled well into their new living arrangements. They access education and have developed new attachments. Staff from the home retain contact with young people who have moved on, giving those young people a continuing sense of feeling valued.

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Progress

The manager has addressed shortfalls in the recording of restraints and sanctions. The records demonstrate that full debriefs are held with staff and young people following an incident. Staff seek young people’s views and the manager identifies learning points for future consideration. This provides safeguards for young people and gives them the opportunity to express their views about how staff manage behaviour.

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Progress

The manager has been unable to address the recommendation to ensure that all staff hold a level three qualification, due to maternity leave for some staff. He acknowledges that this remains an area to address.

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Progress

The manager risk assesses activities and contact for young people. He acknowledges that young people need to take appropriate risks and have independence and freedom appropriate to their age and levels of understanding. The risk assessments demonstrate a good level of multi-agency working to safeguard young people, while ensuring they access positive contact with their friends.

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Progress

The manager has developed a new guide for young people. It is age appropriate, informative and provides a good level of information for young people prior to and upon their admission to the home.

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Progress

The previous inspection identified some damage and disrepair to parts of the home. The manager has addressed this; the home is well presented and provides young people with an environment that contributes to them feeling valued.

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Progress

Young people have good levels of attendance in education. The full inspection identified an issue with a young person refusing to attend education because he had not wanted to get out of bed in time. This is no longer an issue; staff are proactive in ensuring young people attend their educational placements and have incentive schemes in place to promote attendance and engagement.

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Progress

Independent visits take place on a monthly basis to monitor the quality of care young people receive. However, the visits do not provide for consultation with parents or families of young people. Two visits did not report on the presentation of the premises or physical environment. Consequently, the monitoring does not meet the statutory requirements and does not support the manager to identify areas for improvement as effectively as it should.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) interview, with their consent and in private, such of the children accommodated there, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as appears necessary in order to form an opinion of the standard of care provided in the home and inspect the premises of the children’s home and records of any complaints. (Regulation 33 (4) (a) (b)) 25/04/2014

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure all existing care staff have attained a minimum level 3 qualification. (NMS 18.5)

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection.

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